MTN Targets Full Recovery of Airtime Credit Service After Disruption in Nigeria
- MTN Group set a December 2026 target for its Nigerian Airtime Advance service to return to pre-suspension levels.
- MTN's fintech transaction value climbed 36.9% to $512.5 billion despite disruptions caused by the Airtime Advance suspension
- MTN Nigeria's service revenue grew 19.7% in Q3 2026, accelerating to 21.6% in September alone
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
MTN Group has said it expects its Airtime Advance credit service in Nigeria to fully recover by the end of 2026, as the telecommunications giant works to rebuild the business and strengthen its fintech revenue stream.
The disclosure came in MTN's trading update for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, in which the company described the Nigerian Airtime Advance restoration as a key priority for the rest of the year, alongside sustaining growth in core markets and expanding the contribution of fintech to group earnings.
Source: UGC
MTN fintech grows despite Airtime Advance disruption
The suspension of the Nigerian service weighed on MTN's fintech results, but the broader segment still delivered solid growth during the period. MoMo revenue, excluding Airtime Advance, grew by 18.5% over the first nine months of 2026 and picked up further pace to 19.9% in the third quarter alone.
Revenue from advanced financial services rose by 32.4%, while fintech transaction value climbed 36.9% to reach $512.5 billion. MTN credited the performance to wider adoption of its digital financial products and a growing contribution from advanced financial services.
MTN Nigeria revenue accelerates
Nigeria's performance strengthened considerably over the review period. Service revenue in Africa's largest economy grew 19.7% in the third quarter, up from 13.2% in the previous quarter, before accelerating further to 21.6% in September.
MTN Nigeria's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 32.8%, supported by improved cost discipline and stronger revenue generation.
Source: Facebook
Ghana also delivered robust results, with service revenue increasing 35.7% and EBITDA growing 42.1% in the third quarter.
At the group level, service revenue reached R176.2 billion in constant-currency terms during the nine-month period, representing a 17.2% increase. Group EBITDA rose 22.9% to R86 billion, with the EBITDA margin widening by 2.8 percentage points to 47.9%.
MTN's total customer base stood at 323 million as of September 30, 2026. The group counted 181.7 million active data subscribers and 70.3 million active Mobile Money users. Data traffic expanded 27.3% to 22,754 petabytes across its networks.
MTN users can access FG’s N50k monthly cash support
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that MTN's MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) has outlined the steps eligible Nigerians can follow to collect their N50,000 monthly Federal Government relief payments through its platform.
The company said it is among the payment providers facilitating the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), offering beneficiaries a digital platform to receive their funds securely.
Source: Legit.ng
